Agreement greeted by relief, hope, doubt

Many people still skeptical about North's sincerity

By Kim Se-jeong

The 11th hour agreement between the two Koreas at dawn Tuesday came as a relief to many people.

Some said Seoul and Pyongyang should capitalize on the hard-earned accord to defuse tensions on the peninsula and boost economic and social ties.

But some expressed disappointment at the North stopping short of making a clearer apology for the mine explosions that maimed two South Korean soldiers.

“I am relieved that the talks ended in peace,” said Park Hyun-seon, 43, in Seoul.

“I was skeptical about a real war. But deep down, I was concerned because Kim Jong-un is such a young dictator with no experience. I hope this will be the first step toward a move for peace.”

Lee In-kyung, 45, a hotel employee from Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, said his relief was associated with his hotel.

“We’ve been watching it closely because things like this can hurt the hospitality business a lot,” he said. “This year has already been challenging for us. I am glad the tension didn’t drag on.”

Along with relief was skepticism over whether the North will keep the agreement.

An Internet user said, “It is a relief, but this is not all. You have to be careful with North Korea. You just don’t know what it will do.”

Another user raised suspicions, saying, “What happened was good, but I can suspect the South Korean government promised to give money to North Korea to make this deal happen.”

Some people were concerned because the government settled for only “regrets” from the North over the land mine explosions that crippled the two soldiers, and stopped the anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers.

“The government should have adhered to getting a clear apology,” Kim Young-hak, 63, from Daegu, said. “North Korea has gained what it wanted, but the South has not. The reunion of separated families can always stop. I am curious about what if the South kept insisting on an apology in exchange for stopping the propaganda broadcast. I believe it would have been possible that we would have got what we wanted.”

Kim Hyun-ju, 29, from Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, agreed with Kim Young-hak.

“The news doesn’t make me happy,” she said. “This is only a reminder of numerous other peace agreements that went sour quickly after. Sooner or later, the North can create tensions again. I need more hard evidence that this time it is real.”

She also criticized the government that “only works to show off at the expense of its citizens who lost their lives for the country.”